COVID-19: Best Practices

COVID-19: Let’s work together to block it out.

When we designed our 2020 marketing campaign we never would have imagined that we would be using our slogan as a plea for your help in flattening the curve on a global pandemic- but here we are.

CCMPA is working to support all our members in your respective endeavors to ensure the health and safety of all individual while continuing production operations. We strongly believe that our business continuity during this difficult time will help to support our industry and economy over the coming months. However, the level of contagion in the Covid-19 virus is not to be underestimated or taken lightly. In order to flatten the curve, or slow the spread of this virus we all need to be diligent every moment of every day.

The safety and well being of our employees and their families, customers, and communities remains a top priority. Based upon guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), we’ve compiled a list of best practices that are highly recommended to be observed, at a minimum, to help avoid undo exposure to and/or spread of the virus.

Several of our members have volunteered additional best practices that are being implemented at sites that we wanted to share with our network. As we continue to navigate our way through this pandemic, CCMPA will work to continue dissemination of essential information on the rapidly changing protocols around healthy and safety standards. If you have any information you would like shared with the broader audience please reach out to Andrea – A.McChesney@CCMPA.ca.

Disinfecting is Essential! Are you doing it correctly?

Use the Correct Cleaner. Use bleach solutions that indicate effectiveness against viruses on the bottle. Refer to Approved List Provided. To make own cleaner: Add 1/3rd cup bleach per gallon of water. WARNING IF USING BLEACH OR BLEACH BASED CLEANERS. DO NOT USE AMMONIA BASED PRODUCTS.

General Guidelines

International Travel – No international business travel is recommended.

Domestic Travel – Until further notice, non-essential domestic business travel is not permitted. Essential travel is determined as critical to running our business – urgent travel required to safely operate our assets and serve customer needs. Domestic business travel must be approved by your manager. Do not rent cars to drive long distances and use your personal vehicles instead.

Allowing non-essential support staff to work from home wherever possible

Meetings – Essential face-to-face meetings only. We highly encourage the use of technology. In lieu of in-person meetings, video conference, Microsoft Teams, Skype, teleconference, etc. are to be used.

Trainings – All in-person trainings are to be postponed for the time being, unless determined to be a legal/regulatory requirement or if deemed essential to running our business. E-learning and conference call training may continue as scheduled.
Local Safety Meetings – At a local level, safety briefings and meetings can take place. If possible, these meetings should be held outside in open air spaces.

Break Room Etiquette – Where possible, stagger breaks in plants and offices. Where necessary, set up temporary break areas to minimize the number of people gathering together at any time.

Social Gathering – No company sponsored social gatherings should take place in or outside the office. For example, employee activities, employee birthday, or retirement celebrations, etc.

Greetings – Given the potential for spreading germs through human-to-human contact, it is best to avoid direct physical contact such as handshakes and hugs. Employees should try to maintain a distance from others as much as possible (the CDC recommends 6 feet).
Visitors – Please defer visitors, both personal and professional (internal and external), from visiting your location. Instead, use technology for your meetings.

Staying at Home if Unwell – Employees should stay at home if not feeling well or if someone living with them is unwell or has been asked to self-quarantine. The CDC recommends the self-quarantine period be 14 days from the point of exposure. Please see CDC’s link of symptoms, which include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Preventative Steps – Please read CDC’s guidelines on what steps you can take to prevent illness. At the bottom of this email is the CDC flyer with the prevention steps. Please print and post throughout your location.

When arriving at a delivery or loading location, please observe 6-foot personal bubble at all times.

As much as possible, avoid touching any common use surfaces such as doorknobs, doorbells, pens/pencils/writing implements, counters, etc.

Prior to returning to vehicle and putting on gloves and/or other PPE, we ask that you sanitize your hands.

Moving to electronic records for all raw material deliveries

At completion of delivery, set paperwork down for signature, then pick it back up and put away. In these situations, do your best to observe the 6-foot personal bubble.

Sanitize hands before re-entering or interacting with vehicle.

Customer Facing Staff:

Was or sanitize your hands for 20 seconds often, but especially:

Before touching common areas that have been used/touched by others.

After handling paperwork and/or items that have been touched by others.

Maintain separate pens for visitors to use, ensuring that these remain segregated from personal use items.

Wipe down common use areas between customers as much as possible to minimize risk of spread, including counters and door handles.

As appropriate, conduct business transactions outside in open air spaces and minimize indoor traffic as to protect everyone’s 6-foot personal bubble.

Maintain a 6-foot personal bubble between yourself and visitors, which includes the suspension of physical greetings such as handshakes.

Brampton Brick also developed a questionnaire for all visitors to site, example below. Given the forecasted duration of this pandemic, this could be increasingly useful. See the example below.

Additional Action Plans for Consideration:

Continuing to coach on safe & healthy work practices to all employees to keep it front of mind and so employees continue to understand that you really care about them

Have temporary shutdown plans within 24 hours ready to put into action if needed

Ensure the remote ability to produce ROE for employees

Have members consider that if a full shut down of construction occurs (i.e. similar to Quebec) that they consider donating masks / gloves to their local hospital as the last action step on their shut down plan ( there are some very inspiring stories coming out of other markets where full shut down has occurred around this)

Ideas for Isolation Activities:

While spending additional time at home, carry out your routines, as normal as possible. Consider working around the house to give a sense of control and accomplishment. You could consider:

Spring cleaning or decluttering

Do it yourself projects or upgrades that have not quite reached completion